Pete's Walks - Bledlow Ridge, West Wycombe, Bradenham (page 4 of 4)
Eventually I came to a path junction (I'd already passed one path going off to the left) - since Bradenham I'd been following part of my Chiltern Chain Walk, but now I turned off it and entered new territory again, going left and steeply downhill through an empty pasture to reach a sharp bend in Little Lane. I followed the lane ahead, making use of the wide verge to its right and admiring some more Red Kites nearby. The lane was heading almost directly for Lodge Hill. At its end I crossed the main road through the valley (I'd crossed it earlier at the roundabout by West Wycombe) and continued down Lee Road heading for the hamlet of Saunderton Lee (an 'end' of the large and scattered village of Saunderton). Shortly after the road turned right, I took a path going half-left - this was a little dull, as it ran between fences and a hedge on the left. At its end I went half-left again, joining the Ridgeway National Path as it approached Lodge Hill.
Where I left the path to Lacey Green and headed downhill into the Saunderton Valley
Little Lane, looking towards Lodge Hill
Lee Road, Saunderton Lee
The path from Saunderton Lee to Lodge Hill
Approaching Lodge Hill, now on a section of the Ridgeway National Trail
The short climb up the hill wasn't too steep, and well worth the effort for the views at the top. Looking back across the valley I could see across the valley to Loosley Row and Lacey Green, overtopped by its windmill, with Whiteleaf Hill a little further left. To the north were the flat lands of the Vale of Aylesbury and the Oxfordshire Plain, while south I could see the Saunderton Valley split in two by Slough Hill and the wooded ridge beyond which I'd walked earlier.
From near the top of Lodge Hill, looking back across the Saunderton Valey to Loosley Row and Lacey Green
The Vale of Aylesbury, from Lodge Hill
Whiteleaf Hill from Lodge Hill, with part of Princes Risborough on the left
Close-up shot looking southeast from Lodge Hill, to Slough Hill and Allnut's Wood beyond, where I'd been near the start of the walk
The weather was quite strange as I descended the western side of Lodge Hill - as during the rest of the day it was bright and sunny with just a few passing clouds, but right now a small grey cloud was overhead and there were just a few occasional snowflakes falling. The path turned left through a metal kissing-gate to reach a path crossroads in the middle of the next field, where I turned left along a bridleway. Normally I soon turn right to join the Chiltern Way on its way to Bledlow Ridge via Routs Green, but today I wanted to go back to Bledlow Ridge a new way, and so continued along the bridleway. At first it was contained between tall and mature hedgerows with many trees, then it opened out as it followed a shorter hedge between fields and pastures. I turned right along the drive to Lodge Hill Farm, then took a path going left. At a junction by a kissing-gate I wasn't sure whether to keep on the left of the fence or go through the gate and follow the far side of the fence. I chose the former, and for once got it right as after a few hundred yards I reached another kissing gate, well hidden by some fir trees until the last minute. The waymark here was misleading, pointing half-left rather than directly up the steep hillside, but I eventually found the next kissing gate at the top of the field (in a corner). I followed the hedge on the left through the next field to a stile where I turned left, joining the Chiltern Way as it entered Bledlow Ridge. It was then but a short distance back to my car.
The bridleway west of Lodge Hill
The bridleway heading southeast from Lodge Hill
The bridleway heading southeast from Lodge Hill
Close-up shot, looking across the Saunderton Valley to Whiteleaf Hill, from the path back to Bledlow Ridge
Lodge Hill, left, and Whiteleaf Hill, from the path back to Bledlow Ridge
Close-up shot of Loosley Row and Lacey Green (with its Windmill) across the Saunderton Valley, taken from near the edge of Bledlow Ridge
This was a really good walk, with some smashing views, quite a lot of small ups and downs and a good mixture of woods and field paths. The new way I took to cross the Saunderton Valley to reach Lodge Hill was mainly on lanes, but they were quiet and this section passed by fairly quickly. Many of the paths and bridleways were very muddy today, unsurprising after the recent snow. On a fine day in the summer this would be an even better walk, and I look forward to doing it again sometime.
To see this walk done in the reverse direction on 18/12/11, click here - Bledlow Ridge, Bradenham and West Wycombe